Monday, November 25, 2013

Charrier v. Bell case brief

Appellant archeologist sought review of
a judgment from the Twentieth Judicial District Court, Parish of West
Feliciana (Louisiana), which denied both claims against appellee
Indian descendants as owner of Indian artifacts and the
archeologist's request for compensation for his excavation work in
uncovering those artifacts under the theory of unjust
enrichment.

CASE FACTSThe archeologist alleged that he
obtained the permission of a person, who he believed was the owner of
the land, to survey the property with a metal detector for possible
burial locations. The archeologist located and excavated about 30 to
40 burial plots, lying in a circular pattern. The archeologist
contended that he was then advised that the purported owner was the
caretaker.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY
The trial court denied both of the archeologist's claims
as owner of Indian artifacts and his request for compensation for his
excavation work in uncovering those artifacts under the theory of
unjust enrichment.

DISCUSSION

The court held that it would not uphold the
transfer of ownership to some unrelated third party who uncovers
burial goods.

The court agreed with the trial court's conclusion
that La. Civ. Code Ann. art. 3421 was not intended to
require that objects buried with the dead were abandoned or that
objects could be acquired by obtaining possession over the objections
of the descendants.

The court further noted that the ultimate owners
of the artifacts presented substantial evidence that the excavation
caused substantial upset over the ruin of "ancestral burial
grounds," rather than any enrichment.

CONCLUSIONThe court affirmed the decision denying
both of the archeologist's claims against Indian descendants as owner
of Indian artifacts and the archeologist's request for compensation
for his excavation work in uncovering those artifacts under the
theory of unjust enrichment.

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